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Immune responses to measles and mumps vaccination of infants at 6, 9, and 12 months

H Gans1, L Yasukawa, M Rinki

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5208, USA. hagans@stanford.edu

The Journal of Infectious Diseases
|August 31, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Infant measles immunization at 6 months can establish cellular immunity, but humoral responses are limited. Revaccination at 12 months improves antibody titers, enhancing protection against measles and mumps.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Virology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Early infant immunization is crucial for reducing measles and mumps morbidity and mortality.
  • Understanding infant immune responses to vaccines is vital for optimizing vaccination schedules.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the immune response of infants at 6, 9, and 12 months to measles and mumps vaccines.
  • To assess the impact of passive antibodies on vaccine immunogenicity in infants.

Main Methods:

  • Measurement of T cell proliferation and interferon-gamma production.
  • Analysis of neutralizing antibody titers before and after vaccination.
  • Comparison of immune responses across different infant age groups and in the presence/absence of passive antibodies.

Main Results:

  • Infants of all ages demonstrated equivalent cellular immune responses to measles and mumps vaccines.
  • Six-month-old infants without passive antibodies showed low antibody titers and seroconversion rates.
  • Humoral responses were limited in 6-month-olds, but cellular immunity was comparable to older infants; revaccination at 12 months improved antibody levels.

Conclusions:

  • Live attenuated measles and mumps virus vaccines can induce T cell responses in infants during the first year of life, even with passive antibodies.
  • While cellular immunity is established early, humoral immunity is suboptimal at 6 months, necessitating later revaccination for robust antibody protection.

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